‘Glitter, Glam And Glitz’ To Raise Funds For Mercy Fort Smith

An annual black tie-optional event will mix food, music and dancing for a vital cause.

“Glitter, Glam and Glitz: The 45th annual Mercy Auxiliary Dinner-Dance” fundraiser will begin at 6 p.m. Friday at the Fort Smith Convention Center, 55 S. Seventh St. The event includes live and silent auctions, cocktails, dinner, live music and dancing for all attendees, said Celia Martinez, a coordinator for the Hands for Mercy volunteer group.

“Since this is our 45th year of doing this, it really is a milestone,” she said. “We’re hoping to raise between $75,000 and $100,000 from this. Last year, we raised $75,000, so we’d like to raise even more this time around.”

The event benefits Mercy Fort Smith’s radiation oncology program, Martinez said. The money raised will be used to purchase two “crucial” pieces of equipment, the Varian True Beam STX and a High Dose Rate radiation machine, she said. The former machine is a linear accelerator that will give doctors the ability to shrink some inoperable lung and brain tumors in one to three treatments, while the latter machine gives high-dose radiation therapy via implants that are placed close to or inside the tumor in the body, Martinez said.

The HDR will be used for patients with early stage breast cancer, lung cancer and gynecological cancers such as cervical and uterine cancer, she said. This will include a much shorter course of treatment than the usual 20 to 40 visits, Martinez said.

“These machines will allow us to do procedures that we haven’t been able to do in the past,” said Laura Keep of Mercy Fort Smith’s media relations department. “We want to make sure that people get their cancer treatment at home, because it’s so hard to travel when you’re sick.”

More than 400 people are expected to attend “Glitter, Glam and Glitz,” which will feature music from the Tulsa-based band, Mid-Life Crisis, and more than 120 silent-auction items. Among the items up for auction include sky-box seats for a St. Louis Cardinals game, a shopping spree at Newton’s Jewelers and a cocktail party at 21 West End, among other items, Martinez said.

“This event is important because it’s vital that we have cancer care here in Fort Smith,” she said. “This new equipment is very important to this community.”

The event includes cocktails, dinner, dancing and live and silent auctions. Money raised from the event benefits Mercy Fort Smith’s radiation oncology program. Tickets are $100 and can be purchased through Friday by calling Celia Martinez at 314-6679. Dress is black tie-optional.